DGDITMIAE 32

Chapter 32

Pleased with the now-silent assembly hall, Terestia tossed the gun she had been holding to Argo, who stood behind her, as if throwing it to him.

Then she climbed up onto the dais in one swift motion.

*Crash—!*

The empty plate that had held the cake was in the way, so she kicked it aside. The sharp sound of the plate shattering as it fell instilled another wave of fear in them.

When the small-framed Terestia stood on the long dais—the kind judges used when delivering verdicts—everyone had to crane their necks upward to see her, since the dais was already positioned at the highest point.

Terestia liked that. She stood there with her hands clasped behind her back, looking down at them and smiling.

She looked just like a judge passing sentence on their crimes.

Argo, like a solemn prosecutor bringing charges before that judge, produced documents from his bosom as if he had been waiting for this moment.

“Then, since it seems everyone is ready to listen, we shall begin. The impeachment motion against the Grand Duke of Inyument of the Northern Noble Alliance. First: The Grand Duke of Inyument has monopolized monster byproducts.”

Argo’s voice echoed through the assembly hall.

The nobles, who had kept their mouths tightly shut, exchanged uneasy glances among themselves, but Terestia looked down at them with the composure of a well-fed beast, smiling.

“Monster byproducts! Hmm, Argo. Have I ever prohibited the hunting of those monsters, or blocked their sale or purchase?”

“No, Your Highness.”

“Then how unfortunate. Could it be that you simply lack the ability to hunt monsters yourselves?”

As Terestia sneered, Marquis Levnin’s face flushed red and pale by turns.

But Terestia merely tilted her head and spoke.

“As everyone knows, the Grand Duchy of Inyument is the closest territory to the border. Unless there is another territory between my land and the border, are you telling me I shouldn’t conduct subjugations for the sake of my own residents?”

No one could refute such a reasonable statement.

Terestia looked down at the audience, which had fallen as silent as mice, and shrugged.

“If you want monster byproducts, then dispatch knights to me in proportion to your requests. I bestow the monsters my own knights hunt directly to those knights.”

At her words—*send troops if you’re dissatisfied*—Marquis Levnin and the other nobles bowed their heads.

There was no place in the North more sensitive about military strength than here.

And to say *send troops if you want monster byproducts* meant accepting the weakening of their own territories.

When no one could object and silence fell, Argo immediately read out the next item.

“Second: The Grand Duke of Inyument has absorbed residents who fled from other territories and has refused requests to return them.”

“That is truly unfortunate. According to imperial law, there is no law requiring free citizens to obtain permission from their former lord when relocating to another territory. Whoever brought this up must be ignorant of the law.”

Terestia spoke with an expression of genuine pity.

It was merely a customary practice observed across the imperial territories, including the North, but nowhere in imperial law was such a rule written.

However, when she saw the nobles glaring at her as if to say *but it’s our custom* and demand an explanation, Terestia spread her hands as if to say *wait* and spoke.

“Oh my, it seems the North applies a different law from imperial law. Then let’s do this.”

Sarcasm was what the original Terestia did best.

She opened her mouth with an expression that suggested she was doing them a favor by offering a solution for their pitiful situation.

“His Majesty the Emperor is currently pushing forward a law to uniformly standardize tax rates across all regions. So why not simply apply the same tax rate as my territory in advance?”

After all, the reason more residents were migrating to her territory was also because of taxes.

Terestia looked cheerful, as if she had come up with a wonderful idea, but at her words, the nobles’ faces turned ashen.

*Uniformize regional tax rates?*

The current tax rate in the Inyument territory was 30% of annual income—30%!

There was no other territory in the empire with such a tax rate, and now she was telling them to apply a 30% tax to their own lands as well?

Thinking of their woefully low taxes, they saw darkness before their eyes.

But they couldn’t press Terestia further; they wanted first to confirm whether she was telling the truth about that law being pushed forward.

The northern nobles, slow with information, couldn’t even tell whether Terestia’s words were true or false.

Terestia laughed inwardly as she watched their expressions change moment by moment at a single word from her.

They only murmured among themselves, and no one dared to refute Terestia. Once again, Argo’s voice solemnly resounded through the assembly hall.

“And lastly: The Grand Duke of Inyument has long neglected her duty to protect the North.”

“…”

Terestia said nothing to the final agenda item, only smiling coldly.

That much was true.

After all, the original owner of the body, Terestia Inyument, had never once come to the North.

Terestia closed her eyes as if recalling something and spoke.

“It is true that I have remained in the capital all this time.”

Hadn’t the body’s owner in her memories said as much to Count Coniphus, who had come to the capital?

That she was too busy to concern herself with the North.

By any measure, those were not words befitting the master of the North.

Finally thinking he had something to say, Marquis Levnin pointed at Terestia and spoke.

“That is correct! You lived luxuriously in the capital, and only now have you come to the North, stirring up the entire region with talk of being its master!”

*’That is unfortunate… but why must I keep taking responsibility for what the original Terestia did?’*

Of course, she kept those thoughts brief and internal, maintaining a cold, dignified expression as she flicked her fingers at Argo.

“It is true that I have not come to the North until now. However, to say I have not fulfilled my duty to protect the North—that is a flawed statement.”

Argo unfolded the last page of the documents he had brought and held it out for all to see.

Of course, they couldn’t read what was written on it, but it was enough to convey that this was information that could be transparently disclosed.

“Argo, how much military funding have I provided to the North since I was granted the title of Grand Duke of Inyument?”

“Over the past five years, you have provided 5 million gold pieces annually.”

“Fi—Five million gold?”

The nobles’ jaws dropped.

Five million gold annually was enough to cover the entire empire’s national defense budget.

And for five years? They were dumbfounded by that staggering amount.

But something was strange.

She had contributed 25 million gold in military funding, yet they had no memory of receiving any such support.

As they exchanged bewildered glances, Marquis Levnin’s face turned pale.

“Hmm, I think I recall now. Since it would have been difficult for me to distribute that money individually… I gave it to the deputy leader of the Northern Noble Alliance.”

*Deputy leader.* At those words, all eyes in the assembly hall turned to Marquis Levnin’s face.

Baron Soltyker, whose territory had suffered the greatest damage from monsters last year, shot up from his seat and shouted.

“M-Marquis Levnin! Is what Her Highness the Grand Duke just said true?”

“Well, that is…”

Led by Baron Soltyker, other nobles here and there began to vent their anger at Marquis Levnin.

*So that’s why you’ve been so well-off—because you consumed all that support for yourself,* Count Coniphus muttered in disbelief.

“N-No! I have no memory of receiving such funds!”

“How unfortunate. It’s all recorded in my ledgers. When, where, and how I provided the support… If anyone is curious, they may view the ledgers from that time at any time.”

At Terestia’s words, Marquis Levnin could no longer contain himself and slammed his hand on the desk.

Even as he loudly insisted it was nonsense, the gazes around him were cold.

They glared silently at Marquis Levnin for a moment, then one by one began shouting, demanding that he disclose exactly how he had used the support funds he had received all this time.

*What a sight—them tearing each other apart. Just as Argo said, they’re more like stray dogs with no loyalty than noble nobles.*

Amid that pandemonium, Terestia walked slowly over, looked at the knights and Marquis Levnin, and smiled prettily.

“I’ll give you just one more chance. If you want to keep living in the North, crawl like a dog.”

At those words, Marquis Levnin hung his head.

Count Coniphus also rose from his seat and bowed to Terestia, and the other nobles, watching his lead, followed suit.

Terestia looked at the nobles bowing their heads to her and slowly exited the assembly hall.

It was truly a moment when they learned who the master of the North was.